Earth Day 2010

Happy Earth Day!

Every year, since 1969, we have observed Earth Day on April 22nd. Earth Day's purpose is to increase public awareness of environmental issues such as recycling, pollution, energy, and global warming.

There are lots of easy, small things you can do to help care for our planet. Here are a few ideas:

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Or, better yet, if there's enough sunlight coming in, leave the lights off when you enter a room.

2. Reuse the back-sides of paper.

3. Turn off the water when you're not using it, specifically when brushing your teeth.

4. Don't leave the refridgerator open for too long. Decide what you want before opening the door because it takes more energy to cool the refridgerator down after the warmer air has come in.

5. Unplug unused electrical devices throughout your house. Anything plugged into an electrical socket, but not turned on will still use some amount of energy. This energy is being wasted! So besure to unplug old toys, stereos, and chargers that you aren't using.

6. Pack a greener lunch: Use a cloth bag instead of paper bags, and pack your food in reusable plastic or metal containers, instead of plastic wrap or foil. You can also pack your drink in a reusable bottle or thermos, and even try using a cloth napkin instead of paper ones.

7. Check out a book on Earth-friendly crafting, such as this one, for instance.

And why not read a few short storioes about the saving the Earth for inspiration? Here are some titles to get you started:

Just A Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg

Charlie & Lola: We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers, by Lauren Child

Stuff!: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, by Steven Kross

The Great Trash Bash, by Loreen Leedy

Abigale the Happy Whale, by Peter Farrelly

New Stephenie Meyer Book

Attention Twilight lovers! Stephenie Meyer's new novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, comes out exactly two months from today, on June 5th! And it's her first new book in two years.

The story is told from the point of view of Bree, one of the newborn vampires introduced to us in Eclipse. Throughout the novel, "Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion" (Amazon).

If you want to, you can pre-order the book from Books-A-Million or from Amazon now!

Or, click here to read more about the book in a USA Today article.

Peeps as...

This week is (was?) officially Peeps Week 2010 and, in honor of this delicious holiday week(end), I thought I would share with you some fun and interesting ways to eat and serve Peeps. I got ALL of them from awesome Serious Eats website, which also has all kinds of other interesting and yummy recipes.

Here goes...

(1) Peeps as Peeps Krispie Treats



Apparently, although these are made the same way regular rice crispy treats are made, Peeps Krispie Treats taste sweeter that regular ones (sprinkly sugar on top, maybe?). Plus, they're so pretty and colorful! I'm thinking of giving these a shot myself actually, because they look so easy to make. Click the link above for instructions.

(2) Peeps as Peepshi



You can make Peepshi (Peeps Sushi!) with just some peeps, rice crispy treats, and Fruit by the Foot. But you have take a picture before you eat it, because this one's all about the image. Click the link above for a Beginners Guide to Peepshi.

(3) Peeps as S'meeps



Seems so obvious, but I didn't think of it! Apparently these taste just like regular s'mores, but have an extra (and delightful) subtle crunch. I'm also considering making these.

(4) Peeps as Fluffernutter



This one has a surprise! It's not just a regular fluffernutter sandwich with a marshmallow swap. Nope. Instead of ordinary bread, this sandwich is made with 1" pieces of POUND CAKE. Mmmmm!

(5) Peeps as Peepza



Okay, I'll be honest, when I first stumbled upon this I let out an, "Ewww!" But then I gave it a bit of actual consideration and yep, I can see this giving me the exact salty/sweet combo I am always craving (you know, like chocolate covered pretzels do). You're actually supposed to melt the peeps, and when you think about it (really) pizza with a little extra sweet... probably pretty okay.

(6) Peeps as Chocolate Covered Peepsicles



I don't know how you can go wrong with this one, really. Plus it seems totally easy to make. I'd imagine that, in addition to coconut, you could probably cover these guys in sprinkles or even maybe a caramel drizzle or something.

Happy Peeps Week, guys!